An antidote to the antihero

Updated 7:44 am, Friday, June 1, 2012

Sheriff Longmire (center), played by Robert Taylor, and his deputy (Katee Sackhoff, far left) take up a criminal matter with the tribal police in the Wyoming set contemporary Western, "Longmire."

Sheriff Longmire (center), played by Robert Taylor, and his deputy (Katee Sackhoff, far left) take up a criminal matter with the tribal police in the Wyoming set contemporary Western, "Longmire."

Photo: A&E

An antidote to the antihero

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

Amid television's growing gang of antiheroes, a classic white-hat lawman of the ilk played by Gary Cooper, Steve McQueen and James Arness moseys into the TV corral, lending a feel-good vibe to summer.

His name is Walt Longmire, a long, tall contemporary sheriff with a conscience. Portrayed by Australian actor Robert Taylor, Longmire is polite, abhors violence and does everything in his power to right the wrongs in his Wyoming county.

He's the central character in new crime drama “Longmire,” which is based on a series of witty novels by Craig Johnson. It debuts at 9 p.m. Sunday on A&E. “The idea was to try to provide an antidote to the flood of antiheroes that have saturated the marketplace for the past decade,” executive producer Greer Shephard (“Nip/Tuck,” “The Closer”) said in a recent press session. “There's something very, very reassuring about the nobility of this type of archetype that we felt the American public needed in these really difficult times.”

The modern-day Western is just one of a variety of new dramas, comedies and reality shows coming into your air-conditioned living rooms during the hot months. Probably the most anticipated is set in the Lone Star State, an update of one of the most popular nighttime soaps in TV history: “Dallas.” The TNT series brings back characters we grew to love and hate — J.R. Ewing, brother Bobby and ex-wife Sue Ellen — as well as lots of fresh faces who are just as adept as their predecessors at deception and seduction.

Most Popular

On NBC, a handsome doctor in a coma walks around his hospital in an out-of-body state and makes insightful observations about his fellow surgeons, including his heartbroken fiancée. A popular cable TV newscaster tries honesty for a change and risks losing his audience in an HBO ensemble drama from Aaron Sorkin. And on FX, Charlie Sheen's comeback comedy has him playing an angry guy who becomes, of all things, a therapist.

Providing a respite from all this chaos is “Longmire,” which is filmed in calming, picturesque New Mexico. The fact that the hero is so human helps us relate to, and admire, him. Recently widowed, Walt is having a hard time dealing with the loss of his wife, not to mention conflicts on the job, including an ambitious deputy's decision to run against him. Yet, he “still finds the wherewithal to wake up every day and keep going, albeit with some reluctance,” Shephard said. Helping Longmire smile through the hard times is his spunky deputy, Vic Moretti. Played with a casual likability by Katee Sackhoff (“Battlestar Galactica”), Moretti's a Philly transplant whose outspokenness provides a nice contrast to her man-of-few-words boss.

His best friend, bar owner Henry Standing Bear (Lou Diamond Phillips), also provides comfort and help with the area's tribal police. Phillips said the role is a high point in his career. “It is 100 percent back in the saddle for me,” he said. “I grew up in Texas (Corpus Christi). The ‘Young Guns' films still hold a very, very special place for me.”

As for Longmire, why an Australian actor for such an American role? “We wanted to find somebody who didn't come pre-branded, who didn't come with the baggage or the label of another role, so that there's a suspension of disbelief. We wanted the actor to disappear inside the character so that Robert Taylor and Walt Longmire become one and the same,” he said.

Taylor nails it, accent and all. “I'm from a rural part of Australia originally,” the actor said. “You know, it's interesting. People from kind of big, open spaces, they might have a different accent, but they have very similar attitudes, the way they treat each other, the way they live their lives.”

Co-star Phillips summed up Taylor's performance the best. “Like a Matt Dillon for the 21st century,” he said. “He just wears it, you know, like an old leather jacket. I mean, it's really beautiful.”